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破鞋 (pò xié) — worn-out shoes; (vulgar, derogatory) a promiscuous woman; loose woman

Definition

Literally 'broken shoes' from the worn-out sense; as a vulgar insult, it labels a woman as sexually promiscuous. The two senses are unrelated — the slang is strongly offensive and should not be used casually.

noun
worn-out shoes(vulgar, derogatory) a promiscuous womanloose woman
Measure word · 双

Examples

  • 破鞋，。
    Tā chuān le yì shuāng pò xié, xié dǐ dōu mó pò le.
    He wore a pair of worn-out shoes; the soles were worn through.
  • 破鞋，。
    Bié jiào tā pò xié, nà shì wǔ rǔ rén.
    Don't call her a loose woman — that's insulting.
  • 破鞋，。
    Tā jiǎn qǐ dì shàng de pò xié, kàn le kàn yòu rēng le.
    He picked up the worn-out shoes from the ground, looked at them, and threw them away.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

破pòworn-out
鞋xiéshoes

破 gives worn-out and 鞋 gives shoes; together they name old shoes and extend to a loose woman.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
石石shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
皮
皮pí破pò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

破 has 石 (stone) as its meaning part and 皮 as its sound part.

Open 破 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
革革géleather
Sound part声符shēngfú
圭
圭guī鞋
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

鞋 puts 革 (leather) beside 圭 to show leather shoes; 圭 gives the sound and originally drew a pair of ritual axes, not earth.

Open 鞋 →
Appears in
Footwear & Accessories

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